Arsenal ‘aiming to sign Wendel from Zenit but face competition from West Ham and Flamengo for midfielder’

ARSENAL are reportedly interested in signing Zenit St. Petersburg star Wendel.

The 24-year-old midfielder joined the Russian club in 2020 and has Champions League experience.

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The Gunners are looking to make midfielders this summer and have made an inquiry to Zenit about Wendel’s availability, Globo report.

West Ham have reportedly done the same with David Moyes looking to further strengthen their midfield following the addition of Flynn Downes.

But it seems Flamengo are leading the race for Wendel after failing to sign Andreas Pereira from Manchester United, who joined Fulham instead.

All three clubs have good chances of signing the Brazil international as he tries to reach an agreement with Zenit to end his contract after Fifa approved the suspension of his contract due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, Wendel may not come cheap with three years left on his contract.

He also joined Zenit for £17m from Sporting Lisbon and the Russian club are likely to seek a profit on his sale.

But for Arsenal, the former Fluminese star is a cheaper alternative to other targets like Youri Tielemans.

Mikel Arteta is said to be plotting a £30m swoop for the Belgian despite only having a year left on his contract.

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The Arsenal boss is also keeping tabs on Chelsea ace N’Golo Kante, who is also in the last 12 months of his contract.

Arsenal are hoping to secure a £16million deal for the Frenchman and it’s possible Wendel could be lined up as his midfield partner.